Saturday, October 26, 2013

What has happened to the scary horror movies from the past
that traded on the atmosphere of fear rather than the visual of spurting blood
and flying body parts? The tingling
sensation that made the hair stand on the back of our necks and goose bumps on
our arms as our imaginations ran wild.
The spooky ground fog that slithered over and around the tombstones,
cloaking the cemetery in an eerie silence and spectral glow.

I'm talking about the traditional horror classics from
decades gone by such as Frankenstein
from 1931 with Boris Karloff's brilliant performance as the monster. Also from 1931, Dracula with Bela Lugosi's portrayal of the vampire as both elegant
and mesmerizing which left the horror to the imagination of the viewer. The next year gave us 1932's The Mummy with Boris Karloff once again
turning in a stellar performance as the two thousand year old mummy in search
of the reincarnation of his mate. Then
came 1941's The Wolf Man with Lon
Chaney, Jr., as the stricken and cursed Larry Talbot.

True to Hollywood tradition, these classic horror movies
spawned numerous sequels—Bride of
Frankenstein, House of Frankenstein, Ghost of Frankenstein, Dracula's Daughter. And as long as Hollywood was on a roll, they
added to the profit factor by capitalizing on the popularity of the characters
by having them co-star in such movies as Frankenstein
Meets The Wolf Man. Then there were
the myriad remakes that came over the ensuing years, some serious attempts and
others totally ludicrous. Each one
pushed the envelope in its own way in order to hopefully make it better (as in
more box office dollars) than its predecessor.

And the award for the most remakes over the years goes to Dracula.
Some were serious films and others were more on the ridiculous side with
titles such as Dracula's Dog.

With all three of the original movies, the remakes never
really captured the essence of the originals…in my humble opinion.

But these classic horror movies have done more than provide
us with entertainment. They have given
us some valuable lessons for handling real life as well as those evil things
lurking in the shadows.

Here are 9 important lessons Halloween season horror movies
have taught us.

9) When it appears
that you have killed the monster, NEVER check to see if it's really dead.

8) If your companions
suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing,
fascination with blood, glowing eyes, or increasing hairiness, get away from
them as fast as possible.

7) Do not search the
basement when the power has just gone out (especially if it was NOT knocked out
as the result of a storm).

6) If appliances
start operating by themselves, move out.

5) Stay away from
certain geographic locations such as: Amityville, Elm Street, Transylvania,
Nilbog, the Bermuda Triangle…or any small town in Maine.

4) If your children
speak to you in any language which they should not know or if they speak to you
using a voice which is not their own, be afraid…be very afraid.

3) When you have the
benefit of numbers, NEVER pair off or worse yet go it alone when searching the
spooky old mansion for the source of the strange noises (are you listening to
this advice Scooby Doo gang?).

2) As a general rule,
don't solve puzzles that open portals to hell.

And last, but not least…

1) If you find a town
which looks deserted, there's probably a good reason for it. Take the hint and stay away!

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Superstitions flourish in all countries and all
cultures. Some of the origins are so
obscured by time that no one knows when, how or why they came into being. Friday the 13th always brings out
superstitions and rituals to thwart them.

And then there's Halloween.

Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery,
magic and superstition. It began as a
Celtic end-of-summer festival during which people felt especially close to
deceased relatives and friends. They set
places at the table and left treats on doorsteps for these friendly
spirits. They also lit candles to help
their loved ones find their way back to the spirit world. Today's Halloween ghosts are usually depicted
as scarier, as are our customs and superstitions.

Here's a list of ten superstitions that seem to apply
specifically to Halloween.

1) If a candle goes
out on its own on Halloween, it is thought a ghost has come to call.

2) A burning candle
inside of a Jack-o-lantern on Halloween keeps evil spirits at bay.

3) You invite bad
luck into your home if you allow a fire to burn out on Halloween.

4) A person born on
Halloween can both see and talk to spirits.

5) Seeing a spider on
Halloween could be the spirit of a dead loved one who is watching you.

6) If you hear
footsteps behind you on Halloween, don't look back because it could be the dead
following.

7) Don't look at your
shadow in moonlight on Halloween night.
Otherwise, you will die within a short period of time.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

With the approach of Halloween, it's natural for thoughts to
turn to ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night.

There are several lists of the most haunted cities in the
United States, most of them basically naming the same cities in varying
order. Here's one list that recently
came to my attention.

10) Portland, Oregon: Portland has a reputation for being the most
haunted city in the Pacific Northwest.
It's a city of many haunts, both seasonal tourist attractions and
historical happenings where the participants refuse to leave. One of the most famous…or more accurately, infamous…historical haunts are the
Shanghai Tunnels. We've all heard the
slang expression of someone being Shanghaied, meaning abducted. This is where it originated. In the Victorian era (around the 1870s), ship
captains would put into Portland on the Columbia River looking for fresh crew
members. Local middlemen drugged pub goers, dropped the bodies through trapdoors
into the tunnels below where they were held until they could be carted to the
waterfront and sold to the captain for $50/each. These ships were quite often headed for
China, thus the term being Shanghaied.
Many of these drugged unfortunates died while being held in the
tunnels. Today, the Shanghai Tunnels have
several ghosts, some menacing and others apparently confused.

9) San Francisco, California: A city of many haunted locations and
happenings. One of the most interesting
is Alcatraz. The island was a military
prison during the Civil War. It was used
off and on by many different groups to house various prisoners from that time
until 1933 when it was officially turned over to the Federal Bureau of Prisons
and used as a maximum security prison for the likes of Al Capone and Machine
Gun Kelly. On March 23, 1963, Alcatraz closed its prison doors for good. Over the one hundred plus years that the
island housed prisoners of all types, many died in cruel and terrible
ways. Those spirits still inhabit
Alcatraz. Even today as part of the
National Park system, tourists taking one of the park ranger guided tours
report seeing and hearing strange things that can't be explained.

8) Chicago, Illinois: Chicago was the center of gangland activity
during Prohibition, including the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Many gangsters of the era used Chicago as a
body dumping ground. There were also six
thousand Confederate soldiers and sailors buried during the Civil War at Oak
Woods Cemetery which has ongoing paranormal activity. Chicago's most famous ghost is Resurrection
Mary named for Resurrection Cemetery.
She was killed by a hit and run driver on the street in front of the
cemetery and now is often seen hitch hiking along that street.

7) Charleston, South Carolina: The downtown area known as The Battery was a
protective artillery installation during the Civil War. The area is known for its ghost stories. The Battery Carriage House Inn is the city's
famous haunted hotel where visitors often see strange happenings. The inn's two most famous ghosts are the gentleman ghost and the headless torso. The gentleman ghost is thought to be a young man
whose family owned the house in the early 1900s and, for no known reason,
jumped off the roof and killed himself.
The headless torso is believed to be military from the Civil War. There is no evidence that he intends any
harm, but guests have felt threatened when he has suddenly materialized in
their room.

6) St. Augustine, Florida: The nation's oldest city and the first
permanently occupied European settlement.
Castillo de San Marcos is a star-shaped fort and is considered to be one
of the most haunted places in a city filled with unexplained phenomenon. The construction of The Old Fort began in
1672 and took twenty-three years to build.
Many strange sightings, including a Spanish soldier, have been
reported. It is not uncommon for
individuals to capture on film strange lights, orbs, rods, spheres, and even
distinct apparitions composed of strange mists.

5) San Antonio, Texas: The home of the Alamo is regarded as the most
haunted city in Texas. Prior to the
Battle of the Alamo, the ground was a cemetery between 1724 and 1793. It's estimated that about one thousand people
were buried during those years. On the
morning of March 6, 1836, following the thirteen day Battle of the Alamo, one
thousand six hundred Mexican shoulders lay dead along with the approximately
one hundred forty-five defenders of the old mission. The remaining buildings at the Alamo as well
as the surrounding area is one of the most haunted places in the nation. Tales of ghostly sightings have been reported
for almost two centuries.

4) New Orleans, Louisiana: With a history of voodoo and slavery in its
past, it's no wonder that New Orleans is considered a very haunted city. Its most famous ghost is voodoo priestess
Marie Laveau who was buried at St. Louis Cemetery #1, considered one of the
most haunted cemeteries in the country.
New Orleans is well below sea level, so the dead are buried in above
ground tombs or vaults resembling small architectural buildings. Located on the edge of the haunted French
Quarter, this oldest still in service cemetery has been the setting for many
Haunted New Orleans movies such as Easy
Rider, Interview With The Vampire,
and Johnny Handsome. But its biggest draw is the tomb of voodoo
priestess Marie Laveau.

3) Salem, Massachusetts: This site of the infamous Salem Witch Trials
in the late 1600s certainly makes the list of haunted cities. Gallows Hill is believed to be haunted by the
spirits of the nineteen women accused of being witches who were hanged
there. It also shouldn't be surprising
that Salem has one of the largest Halloween celebrations in the country for
people of all ages.

2) Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: The Civil War battle at Gettysburg resulted
is fifty-one thousand casualties. It is
believed that nearly all forty miles of the Gettysburg battlefields have
paranormal activity. Many of the ghosts
show up in photos, including the ghost of Robert E. Lee. In July 1863, Gettysburg's living population
was out numbered twenty to one by the dead.

1) Savannah, Georgia: Savannah was named "America's Most
Haunted City" in 2002 by the American Institute of Parapsychology. The city was home to a Revolutionary War
battleground and also the site of the Civil War capture of General Sherman. Savannah offers several different haunted
tours and is also famous as the location of the bestselling book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Do your characters' names dictate their personalities? There are probably several of you who are
like me…you can't start writing your story or even plotting it until you have
decided on the names of your main characters.
Even though I know who these characters are, they have to be named
before I can continue.

A character's name can say a lot about him or her and even
more when a nickname is used. For
example, if a character is named Elizabeth, that would convey a more formal
type of person. But, give her the
nickname of Liz and suddenly she's a lot more outgoing, ready to party. On the other hand, give her the nickname of
Beth and you have someone who is more shy or withdrawn. I realize those are stereotyped descriptions
rather than fact, but they do give the reader a feel for the type of character
you've created just from the name you've given her. And the same applies to male names. Someone named Henry is one type of character
where Hank is a different type of person.
You have a Charles who is different from Charlie who is different from
Chuck.

A recent survey of 3,000 British teachers said names can peg
kids as potential troublemakers. The
poll reported that forty-nine percent of teachers said they make assumptions
about students as soon as they see the names on the class roster. However, while teachers may roll their eyes
at certain names, fifty-nine percent of the teachers surveyed said those same
kids are usually the most popular among their peers.

With some characters their names are obvious—no worries or
concerns about what to name them. Others
seem to cause a lot of frustration.
That's when I turn to my baby naming books.

And once your character has a first name that suits him or
her, then there's the last name to think about.
Where the first name needs to be a fit for the character, the last name
can reflect on that character's family background. Sometimes that's an important element of your
story and character development, but not necessarily.

On one occasion when I was stuck for a surname, I literally
closed my eyes, opened the phone book, and put my finger on the page. And that was what I used as the character's
last name. It was a minor character, so
I wasn't trying to convey any type of an image or using the name to give
information to the reader.

What type of considerations do you use when naming your
fiction people, especially your main characters? Any special tricks you use to come up with
names? Have you ever named a character
after a friend or relative (I'm assuming with their permission)? Do you keep a list of names you've used so
you don't repeat?

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Cowboy Dreaming

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Falling For The Enemy

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Fortune's Secret Child

Book #3 of a 5 book continuity series featuring the Arizona branch of the wealthy and powerful Fortune family. Can love and trust be rekindled after so much heartbreak, especially with a small child at the center of the situation? A self-contained story that also includes elements of the storyline that starts in book #1 and concludes in book #5.

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In Forbidden Territory

She was his best friend's sister and declared off-limits. Was he playing with fire?

In His Safekeeping

Witnesses in a federal racketeering case have been dying in 'mysterious' accidents. Can he keep her alive while trying to figure out what's happening...and why?

Lover Unknown

Lauren Jamison's psychic vision showed a man falling from a cliff, then Kyle Delaney knocked on her door bringing life threatening danger.